University of Alabama at Birmingham

About: University of Alabama at Birmingham is a education organization based out in Birmingham, Alabama, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Medicine. The organization has 38523 authors who have published 86775 publications receiving 3930642 citations. The organization is also known as: UAB & The University of Alabama at Birmingham.

NCCN Practice Guidelines for Cancer-Related Fatigue.

Abstract: These guidelines propose a treatment algorithm in which patients are evaluated regularly for fatigue, using a brief screening instrument, and are treated as indicated by their fatigue level. The algorithm's goal is to identify and treat all patients with fatigue that causes distress or interferes with daily activities or functioning. Management of fatigue begins with primary oncology team members who perform the initial screening and either provide basic education and counseling or expand the initial screening to a more focused evaluation for moderate or higher levels of fatigue. At this point the patient is assessed for the five primary factors known to be associated with fatigue: pain, emotional distress, sleep disturbance, anemia, and hypothyroidism. If any of these conditions are present, it should be treated according to practice guidelines, and the patient's fatigue should be reevaluated regularly. If none of the primary factors is present or the fatigue is unresolved, a more comprehensive assessment is indicated--with referral to other care providers as appropriate. The comprehensive assessment should include a thorough review of systems, review of medications, assessment of comorbidities, nutritional/metabolic evaluation, and assessment of activity level. Management of fatigue is cause-specific when conditions known to cause fatigue can be identified and treated. When specific causes, such as infection, fluid and electrolyte imbalances, or cardiac dysfunction, cannot be identified and corrected, nonpharmacologic and pharmacologic treatment of the fatigue should be considered. Nonpharmacologic interventions may include a moderate exercise program to improve functional capacity and activity tolerance, restorative therapies to decrease cognitive alterations and improve mood state, and nutritional and sleep interventions for patients with disturbances in eating or sleeping. Pharmacologic therapy may include drugs such as antidepressants for depression or erythropoietin for anemia. A few clinical reports of the use of corticosteroids and psychostimulants suggest the need for further research on these agents as a potential treatment modalities in managing fatigue. Basic to these interventions, the effective management of cancer-related fatigue involves an informed and supportive oncology care team that assesses patients' fatigue levels regularly and systematically and incorporates education and counseling regarding strategies for coping with fatigue (Johnson, 1999), as well as using institutional fatigue management experts for referral of patients with unresolved fatigue.

Recommendations for the Laboratory-Based Detection of Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae — 2014

Abstract: This report updates CDC's 2002 recommendations regarding screening tests to detect Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae infections (CDC Screening tests to detect Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae infections—2002 MMWR 2002;51[No RR-15]) and provides new recommendations regarding optimal specimen types, the use of tests to detect rectal and oropharyngeal C trachomatis and N gonorrhoeae infections, and circumstances when supplemental testing is indicated The recommendations in this report are intended for use by clinical laboratory directors, laboratory staff, clinicians, and disease control personnel who must choose among the multiple available tests, establish standard operating procedures for collecting and processing specimens, interpret test results for laboratory reporting, and counsel and treat patients The performance of nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) with respect to overall sensitivity, specificity, and ease of specimen transport is better than that of any of the other tests available for the diagnosis of chlamydial and gonococcal infections Laboratories should use NAATs to detect chlamydia and gonorrhea except in cases of child sexual assault involving boys and rectal and oropharyngeal infections in prepubescent girls and when evaluating a potential gonorrhea treatment failure, in which case culture and susceptibility testing might be required NAATs that have been cleared by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the detection of C trachomatis and N gonorrhoeae infections are recommended as screening or diagnostic tests because they have been evaluated in patients with and without symptoms Maintaining the capability to culture for both N gonorrhoeae and C trachomatis in laboratories throughout the country is important because data are insufficient to recommend nonculture tests in cases of sexual assault in prepubescent boys and extragenital anatomic site exposure in prepubescent girls N gonorrhoeae culture is required to evaluate suspected cases of gonorrhea treatment failure and to monitor developing resistance to current treatment regimens Chlamydia culture also should be maintained in some laboratories to monitor future changes in antibiotic susceptibility and to support surveillance and research activities such as detection of lymphogranuloma venereum or rare infections caused by variant or mutated C trachomatis

Targeted gene delivery by tropism-modified adenoviral vectors

Abstract: The utility of adenoviral vectors for gene therapy is currently limited due, in part, to the widespread distribution of the cellular receptor for the adenovirus fiber that precludes the targeting of specific cell types. In order to develop a targeted adenovirus, it is therefore necessary both to ablate endogenous viral tropism and to introduce novel tropism. We hypothesized that these two goals could be achieved by employing a neutralizing anti-fiber antibody, or antibody fragment, chemically conjugated to a cell-specific ligand. To test this concept, we chose to target the folate receptor, which is overexpressed on the surface of a variety of malignant cells. Therefore, we conjugated folate to the neutralizing Fab fragment of an anti-fiber monoclonal antibody. This Fab-folate conjugate was complexed with an adenoviral vector carrying the luciferase reporter gene and was shown to redirect adenoviral infection of target cells via the folate receptor at a high efficiency. Furthermore, when complexed with an adenoviral vector carrying the gene for herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase, the Fab-folate conjugate mediated the specific killing of cells that overexpress the folate receptor. This work thus represents the first demonstration of the retargeting of a recombinant adenoviral vector via a non-adenoviral cellular receptor.

Genomic Prediction of Breeding Values when Modeling Genotype × Environment Interaction using Pedigree and Dense Molecular Markers

Abstract: Genomic selection (GS) has become an important aid in plant and animal breeding. Multienvironment (multitrait) models allow borrowing of information across environments (traits), which could enhance prediction accuracy. This study presents multienvironment (multitrait) models for GS and compares the predictive accuracy of these models with: (i) multienvironment analysis without pedigree and marker information, and (ii) multienvironment pedigree or/and marker-based models. A statistical framework for incorporating pedigree and molecular marker information in models for multienvironment data is described and applied to data that originate from wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) multienvironment trials. Two prediction problems relevant to plant breeders are considered: (CV1) predicting the performance of untested genotypes ("newly" developed lines), and (CV2) predicting the performance of genotypes that have been evaluated in some environments but not in others. Results confi rmed the superiority of models using both marker and pedigree information over those based on pedigree information only. Models with pedigree and/or markers had better predictive accuracy than simple linear mixed models that do not include either of these two sources of information. We concluded that the evaluation of such trials can benefi t greatly from using multienvironment GS models.